Lost Boys is a Riveting Story About Iranian Boys Caught in War
In a time when it’s more important than ever to open our minds and hearts, no matter where you’re from or what you believe, here’s a novel that pulls you right into Iran in 1982 during the Ayatollah Khomeini’s oppressive rule and that nation’s war with Iraq.
Lost Boys, by debut author Darcey Rosenblatt, is a fast-paced story of survival about Reza, a 12-year-old boy who doesn’t want to join Iran’s war effort, even though the war has already taken away both his music and many people he loves.
His widowed mother pushes him to join the fight, and says it would be honor if he were to die a martyr. The book’s descriptions of Reza’s mother in the beginning of the story are especially compelling:
Her tight gray bun was a hand grenade at the nape of her neck. Her straight brown dress, clean and wrinkle-free. When she went out, no one would see her dress under her heavy black burka, but it still had to be perfect. With mother, everything had to be perfect.
Lost Boys
Hardcover
$10.70
$16.99
Lost Boys
Hardcover
$10.70
$16.99
But Reza doesn’t want to fight He wants to listen to Stevie Wonder, even if it’s forbidden. And he wants to hang out with his best friend, Ebi, who makes him laugh.
But Reza doesn’t want to fight He wants to listen to Stevie Wonder, even if it’s forbidden. And he wants to hang out with his best friend, Ebi, who makes him laugh.
Yet after a family tragedy and more urging from his mother and best friend, Reza decides to enlist. Based on historical events, we follow Reza as he leaves the only life he has ever known, and is soon held captive as a prisoner of war.
Weeks pass and then months, and many boys stop praying and start talking about how they might escape. Reza is often cold and hungry, and subjected to violence from the guards.
Will Reza survive? Will he make it back home? Miles, an Irish aid worker, is a moving character who gives this story hope.
Rosenblatt says she was inspired to write Lost Boys after listening to an NPR “Fresh Air” interview between Terry Gross and the author of a book about children at war. She acknowledges in her “Author’s Note” that this story is not #ownvoices (she grew up Jewish in Salt Lake City), but she goes on to describe the research she did, including numerous Iranian readers.
Written in first-person, with both the fear and the hope of a 12-year-old who is thrust into a new world, this is a page-turner that will inspire kids to be true friends and have compassion. It’s also a story that will invite discussions about the middle east, war, and religion.
Lost Boys is on B&N bookshelves now.